Monterey and Carmel

My sister Mary Beth and I just got back from five days in Monterey and Carmel. It has been about 17 years since I have been there and was surprised that things haven't changed much. The biggest change would be the closure of my favorite place to have breakfast (The Tinnery in Pacific Grove) for one and the addition of a mall, attached to the Monterey wharf.

Here are some pictures taken in Pacific Grove.

Around the corner from the tree above is a park. The two pictures below capture critters taking over someone's picnic area. The squirrel is going through the backpack in the first picture and in the background of the second picture you will see a seagull trying to open a sandwich bag snatched from the backpack. And the last picture is one of about thirty pictures I took of squirrels. We couldn't believe how big these guys were. 

What is a trip to Carmel without taking the 17 mile drive? We pulled over near Spanish  Bay to check out the beach. Since the beach is on the coast and at sea level, after reading this sign I was trying to figure out where I would go if there was an earthquake.

I have this strange fascination with rock art. I see stacked rocks randomly placed everywhere I go. My husband Bill likes to knock them down so I couldn't resist this self portrait of building one (it was already there, I was just going to add to it). My sister Mary Beth asked me not to post any recognizable pictures of her, but if you look towards the ocean you will catch a glimpse of her.

Of course Pebble Beach would have a Rolex clock

Our last stop was at my favorite tree, the Lone Cypress.

We had our share of fish during this trip... shrimp tacos, shrimp scampi, shrimp salad, shrimp omelet...... so we had to have one of our meals at Bubba Gump's.

The Monterey Aquarium hadn't changed much so if you have been there before I wouldn't recommend going again. It was over priced and crowded.

Can you find Nemo?

You can rent kayaks and get up close and personal with the seals and sea otters.

These were taken at Cannery Row

I always  bring my daughter Lexi a shot glass when I travel. I think she is too polite to tell me to stop, so I decided I will just take a picture of them instead.

On our way back from dinner at Phil's Fish Market in Moss Landing we stopped at Marina Beach. This guy was trying to catch the wind.

Ooopie...  He didn't quite make it (he ended up tangled in a fence).